Commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz fell to a single digit per day at the weekend, preliminary ship-tracking data shows, well below a 10-day average of 14.
Over the weekend, a total of four vessels exited the Gulf via the strait and 10 entered it, according to the data.
The figures exclude any vessels that might have crossed the strait with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to avoid detection.
US President Donald Trump downplays reports that Chinese entities supplied Tehran with satellite images of a military base in Jordan before and after an Iranian strike killed three US soldiers.
“You know, when they say that China spies on us, I say you’re right, and we spy on them too,” Trump tells reporters aboard Air Force One a day after The Wall Street Journal reported Beijing’s intelligence sharing.
“That’s what we do. They basically do what we do,” Trump says.
The incident could deepen tensions between Washington and Beijing ahead of a planned state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on September 24.
On July 17, Iran launched missile strikes on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, which houses US forces. Three US Army soldiers were killed.
Unnamed American officials cited in the Journal’s reporting did not name the Chinese entities involved, and did not suggest that Beijing was directly to blame.
Chinese officials asked for proof of the transfer of satellite imagery when prodded by the US officials, and refused to acknowledge that Chinese companies were involved in providing Tehran with satellite images, the Journal reported late Friday.
Trump has warned Beijing not to sell weapons to Iran, and in May, Washington sanctioned three China-based satellite companies for enabling Iran’s military operations.
China is a top economic partner of Iran, buying much of its oil output, and also an important diplomatic backer.
Trump says of Xi that “he’s behaved reasonably well, and we behave reasonably well.”
Asked if he would ever allow Chinese cars to be sold in the United States, Trump says: “I haven’t. I’m the one that kept them out. The tariffs kept them out.”
US President Donald Trump touts the work of his special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner amid reports he is looking to elevate CIA chief John Ratcliffe in their stead.
Asked about the matter by reporters on Air Force One, Trump highlights Witkoff’s and Kushner’s work to secure a ceasefire in Gaza last year.
“Look at Gaza, for example. Look at the fact that we got all of the hostages back,” Trump says.
“There’s not a lot of fighting in Gaza. Hamas is now willing to give up their weapons,” he adds.
Q: Do you have concerns about Witkoff and Kushner in their ability to close the deal?
Trump: No, they’re doing a great job. Look at Gaza. pic.twitter.com/rRR03LhpSE
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 13, 2026
Israel has still carried out near-daily strikes in Gaza against what it says are Hamas operatives posing threats to troops, though those strikes have also regularly taken the lives of civilians, including women and children.
The Israeli military denies ever planning or carrying out a strike during the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in which 500 civilian deaths were anticipated, following such claims made in a documentary by Israeli filmmakers about Israel’s AI-powered attacks that have led to civilian deaths.
A promotional clip for the film “NAZA” — a Hebrew acronym meaning collateral damage — shows a purported Israeli intelligence soldier being asked what the largest number of expected civilian deaths was ever approved for a strike in Gaza.
“I don’t know how many were killed, because they never check this, but there was once an approval for 500,” the whistleblower says.
In response to an X post (below) containing the clip, the Israel Defense Forces says the claim is “completely false.”
???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????? ????????????
Ex-Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers BROKE THEIR SILENCE, describing an ICE-COLD SYSTEM where strikes were calculated to kill as many people as possible in Gaza.
Their testimony is now a film at the Venice Film Festival. pic.twitter.com/lwdMSMbErm
— Rabbi Jeff (@RabbiJeffx) September 10, 2026
“The IDF has never planned, approved, or carried out a strike in Gaza in which 500 civilians or anything near that number were anticipated to be killed. Nor was any credible claim raised throughout the war suggesting that an IDF strike had caused anything near that number of fatalities,” the military says.
The IDF says that filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor “couldn’t possibly verify this claim, there is no real supporting evidence, and yet they published it anyway.”
“Additionally, nothing about the interviewee, not his service nor his role can be independently checked and verified,” the military adds.
The IDF already on Friday said it “categorically rejects” the allegations made in the film, saying that decisions regarding the selection and approval of strikes were made “by human personnel only… and not by artificial intelligence.”
Also, in its initial response to the film, the IDF said that “the excerpts cited include claims regarding national and military strategy that are clearly beyond the knowledge of junior-level soldiers,” and that there are “references to situations in which IDF Intelligence Directorate soldiers, who were allegedly interviewed for the film, by definition would not have been involved.”
The 80-minute documentary won a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival.
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